Gariep Dam founded as "Oranjekrag", is a settlement in Xhariep District Municipality in the Free State Province of South Africa.
Gariep Dam is a town on the northern bank of the Orange River, 50 km west of Bethulie and 48 km north-east of Colesberg. It was laid out in 1965-66 to accommodate the builders of the dam. The previous name is Afrikaans and means "Orange (River) power". The town acquired its current name in 1996.
The Gariep Dam is located in South Africa, near the town of Norvalspont, bordering the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces. Its primary purpose is for irrigation, domestic and industrial use as well as for power generation
The Gariep Dam, on its commission in 1971, was originally named the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam after Hendrik Verwoerd, the Prime Minister before and after 31 May 1961, when the country changed from the Union of South Africa to the Republic of South Africa. However, after the end of apartheid, the Verwoerd name was considered unsuitable. The name was officially changed to Gariep Dam on 4 October 1996. Gariep is Khoekhoe for "river", the original name of the Orange River.
It is in a gorge at the entrance to the Ruigte Valley some 5 kilometres east of Norvalspont.
The dam crest is some 1300m (4250ft) above sea level.
The wall is 88 m high and has a crest length of 914 m and contains approximately 1.73 million m³ of concrete. The Gariep Dam is the largest storage reservoir in South Africa.
Gariep Dam has a total storage capacity of approximately 5,340,000 megalitres (5,340 hm3) and a surface area of more than 370 square kilometres when full.
The hydro-electrical power station houses four 90 MW generators.
The structure is a concrete gravity-arch hybrid dam. This design was chosen as the gorge is too wide for a complete arch so flanking walls form gravity abutments to the central arch.
It was built by Dumez, a French construction company.